


Tracery

by Idle_Hans



Series: Pocket Universities [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, world-building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24857464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Idle_Hans/pseuds/Idle_Hans
Summary: "The Trace .... doesn't .... "Hermione was having visible trouble processing this administrative incongruity."WHY NOT!?"
Series: Pocket Universities [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798099
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22





	Tracery

Hermione stared at Fay Dunbar in astonishment. "What do you mean you've been practising that charm all summer! How did you get past the Trace?"

Fay shrugged and said, "My grandparents rent a cottage on _Les Écréhous_ every year, and invite us all to stay for the summer. The Trace doesn't extend that far, so my brothers and sisters and cousins and I can do whatever wandwork we want. Grandfather insists on supervising us, but that's okay."

"The Trace .... doesn't .... "

Hermione was having visible trouble processing this administrative incongruity.

"WHY NOT!?"

"Because the Channel Islands are just off the coast of France," said Kenneth 'Ravendor' Towler without looking up from his book. "When Hogwarts was founded, they _were_ part of France. Well, Normandy anyway. Definitely not any of the countries that counted as Britain. So the finding web which informs the Quill and the Book stops at Dover and the Isle of Wight."

"To this day," added Fay, "if you grow up on _Les Écréhous_ , or Guernsey, or Jersey, or any of the others, you'll get an invitation letter from Beauxbatons, but if you want to come to Hogwarts you have to apply."

"What's the Trace got to do with the Quill and the Book?"

"They all use the same finding web," said Alicia Spinnet from the lounge chair next to Kenneth's. "Why would the Ministry go to enormous trouble to build another one, when there's one commissioned by the Founders themselves already in place?"

"And when the Trace was first implemented, the Channel Islands were a separate possession of the English monarch and not part of the Kingdom of England, let alone Scotland," continued Fowler, who finally saw fit to look up from his book. "Still is that way actually. So they never went to the extra effort to extend the web."

"But the Trace goes all the north to the Shetland Islands," Hermione objected. "That's how Ellika Snyde got expelled. Shetland was Norway back when Hogwarts was founded, wasn't it?"

"Yes," conceded Kenneth, "but Shetland's still closer to Hogwarts than most of England and all of Wales. It made sense to the Founders to include it. Not to mention, Helga Hufflepuff had relatives there."

"Right," allowed Hermione. "It still doesn't seem fair."

"Really, oh Grangerous One?"

Hermione looked up and around. The twins were standing behind her.

"Ickle Ronniekins said that on your first train ride to Hogwarts ...."

".... you performed _Oculus Reparo_ on Ickle Harrykin's glasses ...."

".... successfully, first time."

"How did you manage that?" they both chorused.

"I, umm, practiced some spells ahead of time?"

"And did you receive a reprimand from the Ministry ...."

".... or a stinging hex on the bottom from your mother?"

".... No?" ventured Hermione.

"Exactly," they chorused again.

"The Trace isn't imposed until we get to Hogwarts," said Fay. "Before that it's the responsibility of your parents to control your activities. Muggle parents obviously can't do that, so muggleborn students have a dispensation to do whatever they want in their first summer with a wand, regardless of risk."

"When we went to Egypt ...."

".... our brother Bill in his great generosity ...."

".... stood in line for four hours ...."

".... to register himself with the Egyptian authorities ...."

".... so we could all use our wands there ...."

".... under his legitimate tutelage ...."

".... even Ginny ...."

".... but our dear Mum refused to allow it ...."

".... and made us leave our wands at home ...."

" .... in her Gringotts vault."

"Then I could have used my wand in France last summer?" asked Hermione.

"Probably," said Kenneth. "So long as you didn't stuff anything up and alert the _Magistratures magiques_."

Hermione bristled at the suggestion she might stuff anything up. Her weeks in the hospital wing after the Polyjuice incident, while mortifying at the time, had been quite eclipsed by the basilisk encounter and were now a distant memory.

She changed the subject. "When's the Trace actually applied?"

"Remember your very first evening here?" asked Alicia. "When all the first years were herded into a room off the Entrance Hall and left alone there for a few minutes? And then half the castle ghosts came through the wall, all at once, all of a sudden, to distract you from any odd sensations you might have been feeling?"

Hermione nodded, and Alicia continued.

"They act out that exact same skit every year. Now that you're studying runes, have another look at the decorative inlay all over the walls, floor, and ceiling of that room. It's all runework sequences declaring the enchantment to impose the Trace."

"But be very sure to stay in there for less than one full moment at a time," warned Kenneth. "Otherwise the Trace will reassert itself and you'll be stuck with it for another six years."


End file.
